Natives and Newcomers
by NateyGodzilla
Summary: The war has ended, the Phoenix King fallen. The world is lured into a false sense of security. But old habits never die, and tensions between nations are high. Can fire benders live in a earth benders world, even if it means giving up all they believe?


Natives and Newcomers

Some said it had been by the grace of the gods, such a devil to have fallen to the worlds most renowned earth bound deity. Scholars scurried to their libraries, pulling out their dusty scrolls, trying to prove they foresaw this in the scribblings of old. Realists concluded that it had been a silly accident of fate, and brooded silently as the air headed believers scurried to their temples to praise the almighty, grovel at his stone feet. Nevertheless, the Phoenix King had failed. The Fire Nation crippled, was left helpless to the rest of the world, and their arrows. Those who were truly faithful to there Fire Lord were swiftly weeded out and slaughtered, and those who were weak and incompetent pleaded and were quickly converted.

Ba Sing Se, now declared by the Avatar as the Earth's Capital of Peace, basked in massive economic prosperity. Peasants were kings, kings were emperors. Presided over by former earth kingdom admiral, Earth King Baojia lead the city to becoming the sacred emblem of religious correctness.

A giant marble likeness of the gods' holy warrior himself stood looming over the city park, as if monitoring every movement. Tourists from all around the Earth Nation flocked to the Capital of Peace just to obtain a sweeping of the hands over the feet of the statue. It was said that those who touched the feet would be blessed with good fortune. So as well as being the Earth's Capital of Peace, Economically over-fortunate, and the sacred emblem of religious rectitude... it was now the worlds most populated and over blown tourist trap. Ba Sing Se, with all it's emblematic publicity, lead the Earth Kingdom to prosper over all the other nations.

Not to say, however, that the other nations were slowly dying. With all of the Earth Kingdoms wealth and power, financial aid as well as manpower were lent to repairing the damage the war had left behind. The Water Nation had cities lining the poles, and grand capitals composed of glass and crystal floated proudly in the seas. The Fire Nation was given repair and polishing, and under the rule of their new leader, Fire Lord Zuko, became just as prosperous as they were before the conflict had begun. As for the now crumbling ruins of the Air nomads, they were converted into international landmarks, as well as nature reserves. Serving to remind the world of the effects of greed... and sin. The world, it seemed to the ignorant, was finally at peace.

It was a warm, sunny day. Restored lower ring shacks stood polished, cramped together. Outside were cobbled streets flowing with the blood of the city. Fishwives grunted and spat, merchants flaunted their wares, naked children weaved in and out of the traffic doing whatever children their particular age did. Carts filled to capacity with building materials were lined up and currently being assigned a Giant OstrichHorse to haul them along. Efforts to build a fourth ring to house the announced "Suburbs", for those who had lost their homes in the war, were in full swing, and the volunteers as well as paid workers had already repaired the damage done to the outer wall. Highly paid architects surveyed while reviewing floor plans for Earth Kingdoms newest economic venture.

Among the hustle and bustle of the city sat a young boy atop an upturned crate, fourteen years young, whistling a merry tune to himself and tracing images into the cloudless sky. He had auburn hair, and a long, thin face. His skin was far from flawless, but nevertheless any mark was cleverly disguised or hardly noticeable. He was tall, and had a rather muscular build, looking way older than he really was. His name was Kabuo.

His brother, Jiro, being two years his senior, poked his head through the window, so that now their faces were parallel to each others.

"Come inside now, Kabuo..." He said irritably. It had been Jiro's responsibility to watch over the home, and Kabuo wouldn't argue that under his eldest brother's decree, he was officially Jiro's property. Or rather, a piece of furniture that was not yet to be burned for the necessary warmth.

Jiro and Kabuo had almost twin like qualities, same hair, same height, same eyes, etc. But Jiro was naturally a bit rounder than his younger sibling, so people, to his dismay, frequently mistook him for the youngest child. But although he might have looked to many to be a weak, chubby nuisance, he was actually a very strong and driven human being who demanded a great deal of respect from all who knew him. He had lived through his parents death, after all, and still had the strength to carry on, keeping the three sons together in a time of unspeakable grief.

That was another difference between him and his young sibling. Jiro had a very no-nonsense, motivated-to-do-good, goodie-two-shoes attitude. While Kabuo held a more carefree, bend-the-rules-slightly way of life. But under the circumstances it seemed he would have to obey, lest he invoke the wraith of Jiro. So, with little evidence of protest within himself, he got up and walked slowly inside.

Their abode was not more than two rooms, one for cooking, dining, entertaining and such. And one for sleep and hygiene. They did not have a toilet in the house, they had to use the public stalls lining the streets. But despite their meager amount of space, the interior was admirably clean and tastefully decorated. The floors were a common domestic wood, long planks nailed down sturdily covered with plush fire nation carpets, bursting with violent yet passionate reds and purples. The walls were adorned with comforting pelts and family paintings. Little pieces of artwork could be spotted around the room, either bought at a steal price or crafted by hand. Lacquer cabinets sat cozily in the corner of the room, just beyond the table set for three and the counter top overflowing with culinary utensils and herbs and spices. They housed bamboo tableware, iron pots and pans, dried meats and seasonings, everything essential for a traditional fire nation comfort food indulgence. The center of the room had been left bare except for a small fire pit and a few cushy pillows, battle ready for long winter evenings.

The room beyond had three small beds, set up adjacent to one another. Each one had simple red sheets and a head board to hold each child's personal and sentimental nick nacks. In the corner was a large porcelain basin, rose petals floated on the water's surface. Next to it were two stacks of face and body towels, clean and white.

Kabuo made it inside, greeting his brother with a casual nod of the head as he plopped down on his cushion and cracked open his favorite fiction.

"Kabuo, listen to me, listen to Jiro!" Jiro barked. He was sweaty, it smelled as though he had been cooking something, maybe curry? It was a pungent odor, but not entirely foul. It had a savory and familiar smell, but Kabuo disregarded the entire matter of identifying it. He looked up at his sibling, nonchalantly blinking his eyes.

"Kabuo, I need you to take this down to Masao." Jiro said each word slowly and with some force, as if speaking to a dog. Kabuo reluctantly put out his hands, not taking his eyes off his brother. It was a steaming wooden lunch box. Masao was Kabuo and Jiro's eldest brother, and their legal guardian. He was also the smartest of the three, seeing as he was the only one who had finished his schooling entirely. Unfortunately, here in Ba Sing Se, fire nation foreigners were not trusted doing anything important. So all of Masao's intelligence was for not, and the only way for him to make money was physical labor.

Today he had been stationed in the fields, weeding and raking, so the walk wouldn't be too terrible.

Kabuo made his way through the maze like streets. He greeted elders and smiled at young one's who stared and sucked their thumbs. He had only been here a few months but already he had gotten his bearings. If someone knew where they wanted to go, Kabuo could point them in the right direction. This was a natural talent, a talent the two other sons could only dream of having. That was his responsibility, navigating around the city, delivering goods and making little money for it.

He heard church bells ringing, and for some reason the squaller of the city seemed to dumb down, and the traffic seemed to thin out, and Kabuo thought it safe enough to walk a little bit more leisurely. He walked past carts full of flowers and carts full of little candies and cakes. 'This lunch seems to be missing a sweetie...' Kabuo thought to himself. He tactfully swung around to the sidewalk and grabbed a small paper bag from the display. He preceded to fill it with colorful little sweets of all shapes.

"Hey hey hey! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" An old man ran up and snatched the bag from Kabuo's hands.

"Oh, I'm sorry, do I pay first?" Kabuo asked earnestly, pulling out a small purse.

"I don't serve fire nation scum!" the old man hissed. Kabuo was taken aback, such fury coming from such a tiny, nonthreatening man was admittedly startling. He backed away slowly, turning to leave. All eyes were on him and he blushed redder than the garments he wore.

"We don't need or want you here, take your goddesses back to the fire nation with you!"

That night at the table, the three sons sat and prayed to their lords to bless them. They thanked their goddesses for the food they ate, and that they still remained together. And they asked the goddesses to forgive the old man for his intolerance of their culture.

They ate silently, occasionally glancing at each other. It had not been the first time one of the native citizens had lashed out against them. Here in BaSingSe they only believed in one god, and that the Avatar was his holy warrior. According to Earth Kingdom lore, the avatar was able to tap into the afterlife, or the "Spirit World", and manipulate the ghosts within. Ever since the war had ended, monuments devoted to the Avatar sprung up in temples all around the city. Earth King Baojia was a religious extremist, and he had made it abundantly clear that he preferred that all newcomers convert to the native faith. But, unfortunately for him, there was no law dictating a single religion. So fire nation pilgrims continued to flood in, carrying there rituals and traditions with them.

It was a rainy evening, Masao, Jiro, and Kabuo sat on their cushions and watched the flames erupting from the fire pit dance and crackle. There had been an attack that day, this time on Masao. An angry village man ran up to him in the fields and began beating him with the handle of a broom. He thought the man was daft, so he did not retaliate. But he did scream for help, all the other's did was watch. There were no fire nation among them.

Masao managed to get away, but not without a black eye and a few bruises on the back, nothing too serious, he said. Still, every day tension grew between the Natives and the newcomers. Reports of attacks on fire nation people were being heard all around the city. Small riots were started, but were quickly snuffed out by the New Dai Lee. Masao was now also being paid less than the other workers in his troop. He did not say anything, however, he wanted to be tame about things.

"How long are you going to let them treat us this way...?" Kabuo asked bitterly. He couldn't help but fiddle with the flames, fire bending made him feel human, like he still had defenses.

There was a long silence, where all was seemingly asleep.

"Give it time..." Masao said after many moments, softly sighing and dabbing his eye with the steak given to him by Jiro. "Sooner or later the Earth King will be alerted of these attacks and laws will be passed."

"It's always darkest before the dawn..." Jiro chimed in, trying to make light of dark matters. Lately Jiro had been testing out new personalities, seeing that his snobby disposition was not earning him anymore respect out of the neighbors or his two siblings. This week he was sampling a more Cheery, optimistic, quote-for-every-moment kind of attitude. It was rather annoying to Kabuo and his eldest brother, but they tried to keep their minds open. It was not often Jiro was this chipper, unless he had just proved a point or had someone admit he was right after all.

"Are you kidding me?" Kabuo laughed while exchanging glares with the middle child. "The Earth King hates us more than the entire city combined! I heard that he wants to pass a law for a single religion, anyone who doesn't convert will be exiled!"

"What dimwit told you that rubbish?" Jiro said, breaking his facade.

"Jun from down the street!" Kabuo said, defending himself and putting his hands up in mock defense.

"Pure dribble, if that were to happen this place would have to revoke it's title as 'Capital of Peace'"

"It could happen, and circumstances are pointing in that direction. In which case we'll need to have a back up plan, someplace to go." Masao calmly stated.

"What about Kyoshi? I heard that place was relatively untouched by the war." Kabuo nodded in agreement with himself.

"Are you kidding me?" Jiro snorted, mocking Kabuo's earlier statement, making a funny voice and wrinkling his nose. "It was a Kyoshi warrior that helped bring down the fire nation air ships. She was honored and decorated a few months ago. That place has got to be bursting with publicity. I say we go to Whaletail, there were fire nation there long before anyone else." Kabuo pouted for a few seconds before rebutting.

"Why don't we just go back to the fire nation, I can't even imagine why we came here in the first place..."

Masao shook his head, speaking slowly and solemnly while not taking his eyes off the fire, "Ever since the war ended, the entire continent has been swarming with Earth Kingdom troops along with Dai Lee agents. Now that the Fire nation is no longer allowed an army they are totally helpless. I've heard whisper of Earth Kingdom missionaries penetrating the coast line, just like they did a hundred years ago. They're striking while we're down."

"I wonder what Fire Lord Zuko is doing about it..." Kabuo said in a dreamy voice. "He must have known this would happen. I mean, the Earth people are stubborn, even a hundred years of war couldn't deter them..."

"We became the enemies when Sozen went utterly insane." Jiro sighed, as though annoyed. There was another long pause, in which all three brother's reflected on their history lessons.

The Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation were planetary super powers. Trade and commerce were good between us, the Fire Nation, and the rest of the world. Our cities were the height of cosmopolitan wonders and industrially we were way ahead of our time. All were at peace, until the Earth King Cheng-Gong launched a major religious campaign, apparently concerned for the other nations' immortal soul's. He began to ship troops all over the world, forcing small, foreign villages and towns to convert. All those who didn't cooperate would suffer harsh punishments. The Air nomads simply ignored them, hiding untouched in their mountain homes. The Water people fought back in small rebellious groups around their countries. The Fire Nation sent small corps of troops to flush out the missionaries suffocating the coastline. Finally it had become clear, Cheng-Gong had gone mad with power... and had to be stopped.

The leaders of all the Nations met under the cover of night in the Fire Lords war chamber. Monks Kuan-yin and Giatso of the Air Nomads, Qing Yuan and Naoko of the Northern and Southern Water Tribes, and Fire Lord Sozen and Avatar Roku of the Fire Nation. They discussed all of the possible solutions. Reasoning, War, Assassination. It was actually Qing Yuan who suggested the Order of the White Lotus be consulted.

But that is where their history lessons had ended. But fortunately, the rest could be filled in by there parents, and with the same short and sweet response whenever they asked. 'Earth king is assassinated, Sozen starts the war for some ridiculous reason.'

"Why would he want to wipe out the Air people...?" they'd all ask, wide eyed with innocent curiosity and subtle hints of fear. To which they would greet a pair of smiles and soft eyes, looking right through the three children like x-rays.

"The Fire Lord went crazy..." The children all shuddered. The parents would just laugh, and shake there heads. "Do not worry, young ones, he's long gone, and the war will be over soon. The Avatar has returned, and the hope the world had once lost has now returned."

The brother's remembered it all so vividly, the lives they had back in the Fire Nation. They sat and stared at the flame, light dancing on their faces and on the dark concrete walls beyond them. Nobody bothered to speak, because they knew what each other was thinking. This was a holy silence, one dedicated to their parents, sanctified by the Goddesses themselves. Their Mother and Father had never approved of that damned war, they would not give into the Fire Lords propaganda. Eventually their ignorance brought upon their own demise. It was the news of the Phoenix King's defeat that serenaded their ascent into the heavens.

Without a word, Masao got to his feet and walked into the other room, removing his clothes and climbing into his bed. He was followed soon after by Jiro. But Kabuo remained sitting in his place, staring remorsefully into the dreadful fire. It danced, like a drunken man, and he hated it for it. He could not just let go like the other two could, they were taken by the war, and the man who started it was dead. He knew he could do nothing, but the flame still flickered inside of him, it new that something had to be done.


End file.
